In perhaps what may turn out to be one of those epic twists of
historical irony, Western talking heads will be shocked when Ukraine
emerges unified with no real ethnic divisions between Russians and
Ukrainians: they will have missed the boat in the same way Western
analysts missed the collapse of the USSR. George Bush the elder perhaps
best exemplified this myopia in his infamous Chicken Kiev speech before
the Ukrainian SSR Parliament in 1991 when he labeled the aspirations of
Ukrainians—themselves long-term victims of Russian
nationalism—“blood-thirsty nationalism.”
Dignity is not something political scientists can easily quantify or
characterize, so in most cases they are blind to the deeper sentiments
driving events in Ukraine. Stephen Cohen displays his ignorance of local realities
when he misrepresents Ukraine as “two countries”—playing into Putin’s
aspiration to grab parts of it if cajoling Ukraine into the Eurasian
Economic Union fails.

Many people in Crimea and eastern Ukraine don't want the protection of
Russian President Vladimir Putin. But there are some who are afraid of
forced Ukraineization because they have been fed propaganda by Russian
TV channels for years. The purpose is to convince Ukrainians that we are
divided, not one country, and that the safest course of action for
Russian-speaking areas is to break away and join Russia.

These ideas have been cultivated since I was a child. I remember when I
lived in Donetsk in the '90s, how scared we were that a candidate from
western Ukraine would win an election and force us to speak Ukrainian.
But when I moved out of the area of aggressive Russian information, I
quickly realized I can speak Russian in Kiev or Lviv and no one will
ever be upset with me!

Over our 22 years of Ukrainian independence, fears of language or ethnic
persecution have never come true. But they were kept alive by Russian
propaganda. We understand that Putin is trying to escalate tension and
provoke civil war in Ukraine right now. He can't afford for a free
Ukraine to succeed: His own people might get an idea that it's possible
to overthrow a tyrant and build a prosperous country.

My friend tells me she burns every time she hears someone in the West say Crimea used to be part of Russia so it's no big deal. She wonders how many Westerners recall that Alaska was once part of Russia and are aware that Russian children are taught that America acquired Alaska illegally?

Make of it what you will. Meanwhile, WaPo reports that Crimea has set a referendum on joining Russia, a move President Obama has said would be "unconstitutional."